This course fulfills requirements for the following specialization(s):

International Affairs

Description: This course will examine the changing nature of national security, foreign policy and international economic policy issues in a world characterized by growing interdependence and globalization, with a particular attention to how technology offers both new opportunities and new dangers. Among the issues to be analyzed are counter-terrorism and homeland security, non-proliferation and export controls, intelligence policy, global public health and environment, energy, international trade, economic assistance and financial policy, and regulation of the internet. We will look at the interaction between substantive policy problems and policy tools and organizational structures at both the national and international level. To reflect the multi-disciplinary nature of the issues, the course will enroll graduate students from a broad range of schools and colleges, representing a variety of disciplines.

The course will feature presentations by several current and former senior practitioners directly involved in policymaking in these arenas, and will use simulations, role playing and memo-writing to explore the dynamics of both inter-agency and multilateral decisionmaking. Each student will be asked at the beginning of the semester to identify an emerging policy issue, and will be expected to write a paper and lead a class discussion of substantive policy options and institutional/organizational strategies to implement policy decisions.ited States and region